Sean Astin and More to Guest Star in New Season of Syfy's ALPHAS, Premiering 7/23

The second season of Syfy's hit series Alphas, produced by Universal Cable Productions and BermanBruan Television, returns tonight, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars.

New this season are Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Returning guest stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica, Brothers and Sisters) as Stanton Parish, Kathleen Munroe (Haven, Stargate Universe) as Dani Rosen and Mahershala Ali (Treme, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Agent Nathan Cley. Summer Glau (Dollhouse, Firefly) who was a fan favorite last season playing an Alpha, Skylar Adams, will return for three episodes.

Alphas stars David Strathairn as Dr. Lee Rosen, Malik Yoba as Bill Harken, Warren Christie as Cameron Hicks, Azita Ghanizada as Rachel Pirzad, Ryan Cartwright as Gary Bell and Laura Mennell as Nina Theroux. Erin Way (Detroit 187, Private Practice) joins the cast this season as Kat, a mysterious young loner whose Alpha ability equips her with perfect muscle memory, making her a "quick study." But while her skills are permanent, her personal memories are short-lived.

Alphas follows a clandestine group of ordinary people with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Led by preeminent neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Lee Rosen (Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn), the unlikely team takes on cases the CIA, FBI and Pentagon are unwilling or unable to solve going head-to-head with many of the criminal Alphas hiding among the normal population.

The new season picks up eight months after last year's stunning season finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences. Dr. Lee Rosen, having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his stunning revelation. Some of the team have disbanded and without Dr. Rosen's care and guidance, have regressed to their old, destructive ways. They must now battle their individual demons, reunite and try to save their own.

New and Returning Guest Stars Include:

Sean Astin plays Roland, an Alpha who has a bizarrely absorptive brain, which allows him to assume the memories of anyone close to him and then replay them like a tape recorder.